Furlong goes the distance to lengthy acclaim
Jeremy Alexander at Loftus Road
Monday November 15, 2004
The Guardian
Wigan might have guessed from Arsenal: when you lose once to end a run, you can lose the plot if not the lot. They were always much too down-to-earth to pretend to the clichéd designer label "aura of invincibility" attached to Tiger Woods, Serena Williams and so on but after 17 unbeaten games from the start of the season this was a second defeat running, though different from that by Plymouth.
Then they were stifled by a five-man midfield. QPR, without the suspended Marc Bircham, did not have the men to copy that, risked two wide in a 4-4-2 and after half-time put Marcus Bean on the influential Jimmy Bullard. It was a master stroke by Ian Holloway that sent him into runaway quotes mode afterwards.
Wigan, who had cracked a circus-master's whip in the first half, were put through Rangers' hoops and punished at the last. In a fatal moment of indecision Bullard conceded ball, game and man-of-the-match status. His mortification was absolute, Wigan's all-black strip suddenly apt.
With Nathan Ellington lying injured, Bullard changed his mind between putting the ball out and playing on. His loose pass at halfway gave Kevin McLeod a 40-yard run down the left for a cross that Paul Furlong met with equal precision on his header to cap an imposing afternoon with his 11th goal of the season.
"It was a quality goal that won a tough game," said Holloway. "We were naive," said Paul Jewell, who himself referred to Arsenal. "They do the right things at the right time." This will hardly have comforted Bullard, whose non-stop running and quickness of foot and mind gave Wigan their momentum. "We should have been out of sight," said Jewell. "In the first half it was like clubbing seals," which is best out of sight, of course. Ellington, Jason Roberts and Nicky Eaden missed badly.
Ellington missed the first defeat and was barely fit; Dan Shittu is not a man to be marked with tender ribs. Wigan felt the absence of Lee McCulloch but are unlikely to suffer from suspensions. Discipline is exemplary and this was a game of outstanding chivalry, beautifully refereed. No name was taken.
Wigan were elected to the League in 1978, two years after QPR came second to Liverpool in the top division. Exactly 10 years ago they were 92nd in the League. Now, with Reading, they stand out among fallen mighty at the top of the Championship. The Premiership will not frighten them, with the chairman Dave Whelan promising £40m if they make it. Jewell has been there before, with Bradford, and as a former Wigan player his heart is where he is now. Wigan's motto is "Progress with unity". Jewell's might be distilled from this simple summary of his role: "Recognising attributes and fitting them like a jigsaw".
Holloway, a former player with QPR, is making similar progress more excitably. In September his place seemed threatened by a consortium, headed by Dunga, the former Brazil captain, buying into the club. "I'll move heaven and earth to prove to these people that I'm the geezer to take this club forward," he said. His players at once won seven matches running and QPR went from 20th to fourth. The Dunga din was silenced.
He was typically fluent after this victory: "The keeper [John Filan] took everything like it was a stroll in the park; he got on my nerves, that green fellah. But Furlong was fantastic . . . playing with a smile on his face . . . only five years younger than me [41]. I've tried to bring players in on loan but I just get custard pies in my face. I'm sick of the taste of custard. How can we cope with a window next year. They should draw a curtain on that. But what a game! I need to go and lie down now" - which is something his team never do.
Before he did, he went on: "It's like a snowball going downhill so fast you can't stop it." He might have been talking about himself talking.
INDEPENDENT
Furlong takes advantage as Jewell's leaders lose sparkle
Queen's Park Rangers 1 - Wigan Athletic 0
By Gordon Tynan
15 November 2004
Wigan Athletic were made to regret a number of missed chances by Queen's Park Rangers as Paul Furlong sneaked a late winner at Loftus Road to condemn the Championship leaders to their second successive defeat.
Wigan, who were unbeaten in the League this season before losing 2-0 to Plymouth nine days ago, saw their advantage at the top of the table reduced to goal difference as Ipswich Town took full advantage, joining Paul Jewell's side on 39 points.
Meanwhile, QPR's victory moved them into fifth place and their manager, Ian Holloway, praised Furlong's contribution to their rather unexpected success, the 36-year-old striker having already scored 11 goals this season.
"Paul Furlong was fantastic," Holloway said. "He may not be much younger than me but he looks after himself so well and he is playing with a smile on his face. It was a quality goal that won a very tight game.
"If they had scored in the first half it would have been very different, but if you don't take your chances then we have players like Furlong who can take advantage. I'm proud of the boys. Now I need to go and lie down."
Wigan controlled large periods of the game and Jewell claimed: "We should have been out of sight by half-time. We defended well but we got nothing from the game and that is very disappointing."
The vital goal came from a mistake by Wigan, Jimmy Bullard giving the ball away to Kevin McLeod, who raced down the left before crossing for Furlong to head home.
The visitors dominated the first 45 minutes with some superb football orchestrated by Bullard. However, they failed to score, Jason Roberts shooting tamely at Chris Day in the 17th minute with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Another attack saw Roberts get the better of Dan Shittu and pull the ball back for Nathan Ellington to sidefoot wide. Roberts then put in Nicky Eaden who fired wide, before Day saved at the feet of Bullard.
QPR muscled their way back into the game after the break and they carved out a good chance after 58 minutes when Lee Cook put in Marcus Bignot,
whose shot was well saved by John Filan.
Jamie Cureton headed McLeod's corner just wide as QPR got on top before Bignot's centre was wasted by Furlong. No matter, as he was on hand to make amends and clinch victory.
Goal: Furlong (86) 1-0.
Queen's Park Rangers (4-4-2): Day; Bignot, Shittu, Santos, Rose; Ainsworth (McLeod, 64), Bean, Gallen, Cook (Padula, 76); Cureton, Furlong. Substitutes not used: Branco, Gnohere, Simek.
Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): Filan; Wright, Jackson, Breckin, Baines (McMillan, h-t); Eaden, Mahon, Bullard, Graham (Teale, 76); Ellington (Flynn, 87), Roberts. Substitutes not used: Walsh (gk), Whalley.
Referee: B Knight (Kent).
Man of the match: Furlong.
Attendance: 15,804.
TELEGRAPH
When he was manager of Bristol Rovers, Ian Holloway taught Wigan's strike force of Jason Roberts and Nathan Ellington how to score. Now at Queens Park Rangers, Holloway has shown he is just as adept at teaching defenders how to shut them out.
His tactic was to entrust centre-half Danny Shittu, creaking knees and all, with the task of breaking up their play and it was a ploy that worked as the Championship's most potent partnership was silenced at Loftus Road.
With Roberts and Ellington outpaced and out-muscled, Queens Park Rangers were able to steal the match with four minutes to go when Paul Furlong's 11th goal of the season condemned Wigan to a second successive defeat.
After scoring 21 goals during Wigan's 17-match unbeaten run, the former Bristol Rovers pair of Roberts and Ellington had built the sort of reputation central defenders love to ruin. But the odds of that happening before the match seemed as remote as Holloway taking a vow of silence. A cruciate ligament injury ended Shittu's season last year and he has played only seven Championship matches this year.
But when Shittu has played Rangers have only lost once in the league this season. Quick, athletic and naturally powerful, Shittu is a dominant presence who at 24 can only mature into a better player.
"There is no one better than him in this division," said Holloway of Shittu. "They said their strikers would push it and run past him but they tried and were not able to do that. He is getting better all the time and so is my team."
Since his return from injury, Shittu's team-mates have been challenging him to a race at 100 metres. So far he has turned down all the offers but after twice beating Ellington and Roberts in a sprint, he may feel the time is right to put a few of his colleagues in their place on the training field.
"I knew they were two big, quick strikers and when they took me on I was worried but I won my races," Shittu said.
"I was worried after the knee injury that I would lose my pace but it seems ok. I knew they would be a handful as they are the best partnership in the league but we had been studying them all week on video and knew we could not give them any time."
Doubtful before the match with a rib injury, Ellington looked rusty as he miscued an early chance after being put through by Roberts. He fared little better shooting wide after a clever byline pull back by Nicky Eaden had found him in space.
Rangers rallied in the second half and Shittu started to impose himself. Rangers also closed down Jimmy Bullard in Wigan's midfield, and with their supply cut off, Ellington and Roberts faded.
Wigan suffered the ultimate punishment when Bullard gave the ball away to Kevin McLeod and his sprint down the left wing ended in a perfect cross for Furlong to convert.
The result was not enough to knock Wigan off the top but it has given Rangers' mixed season a fillip.
"We are dreaming," said Holloway. "No one round here can now remember the bad old days and this is a good place to be again."
Match details
Queens Park Rangers (4-4-2): Day; Bignot, Rose, Shittu, Santos; Ainsworth (McLeod 64), Bean Gallen, Cook (Padula 76); Cureton, Furlong.
Subs: Branco, Gnohere, Simek.
Goal: Furlong (86).
Wigan Athletic (4-4-2): Filan; Wright, Baines (McMillan 46), Jackson, Breckin; Eaden, Mahon, Bullard, Graham (Teale 76); Ellington (Flynn 87), Roberts.
Subs: Walsh (g), Whalley.
Referee: B Knight (Orpington).
TIMES
Furlong makes the difference
By Alex Wade
Queens Park Rangers 1 Wigan Athletic 0
BEFORE THE VISIT OF WIGAN Athletic, the Championship leaders, to Loftus Road, the talk was of their strike force. How would Queens Park Rangers cope with Nathan Ellington and Jason Roberts, who, with 21 goals between them this season, have already gone a long way to justifying their combined price tag of £2.6 million.
To add irony to apprehension, the man responsible for the emergence of Ellington was Ian Holloway, the QPR manager. In his former role as manager of Bristol Rovers, Holloway plucked Ellington from non-league Walton and Hersham for £150,000. By the final whistle, however, there was little talk of Ellington and Roberts. Instead, the plaudits went to Paul Furlong, the veteran QPR striker, who gave a lesson in the art of centre-forward play.
Wigan started with intent, pumping the ball down the Rangers right flank, where, at right midfield, Gareth Ainsworth was making his first start in three months. As with much of the opening exchanges, nothing came of it: the two sides appeared nervous and struggled to find their rhythm in end-to-end but often scrappy play. It was not until the seventeenth minute that a clear opportunity arose, when Roberts sent Ellington clear, but he could only scuff a right-foot shot into Chris Day's arms.
Soon, though, Wigan began to find some fluency. Though Furlong headed wide from Marcus Bean's cross, Roberts and Ellington looked increasingly dangerous. Just past the half-hour mark Ellington got the better of the impressive Dan Shittu on the byline, crossing to Roberts, who shot wide. As the first half came to a close, near misses by Nicky Eaden and the industrious Jimmy Bullard left Wigan clearly on top. But under Holloway, Rangers have acquired resilience. His team made their own declaration of intent with an on-pitch huddle before the start of the second half. Soon Furlong, who worked tirelessly throughout to hold the ball up and find space, went close with a volley from an acute angle.
Wigan continued to threaten but it was the introduction of Kevin McLeod, on for Ainsworth just past the hour, that proved crucial. A mistake by Bullard gave the ball to McLeod on the same left flank that Wigan had packed with men at the start of the game. The 24-year-old ran down the wing before curling in a perfect cross for Furlong, who headed home his eleventh goal of the season.
A subdued Paul Jewell rued his team's wasted opportunities. "Coming to a ground like this is never easy, but we didn't take our chances and got punished," the Wigan manager said. His counterpart praised Furlong. "He's an absolute credit to his profession," Holloway said. "For someone in the so-called twilight of his career, he's still improving. If his desire is still there, there's no reason why he couldn't play in the Premiership."
Ian Holloway admitted today that Queens Park Rangers can only maintain a promotion push if he can strengthen his squad.
A late header from Paul Furlong earned QPR a 1-0 victory over leaders Wigan to take them to fifth place in the Championship.
But Holloway is finding it difficult to do transfer business because other clubs are unwilling to loan out their players. He said: "I am making lots of calls but everywhere I turn I am getting a custard pie in the face. I'm starting to get sick of the taste of custard."
Furlong, 36, has now scored 11 league goals this season, and Holloway added: "He may not be much younger than me but he looks after himself so well. He is playing with a smile on his face."